FIFA World Cup 2002 Group A

The wheels well and truly came off for the reigning champions, France who finished bottom of the group without a goal scored. Debutantes Senegal finished unbeaten in second place behind Denmark after a dramatic showdown with Uruguay.

Senegal 1 France 0

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul (62,561)
31 May 2002

Senegal delivered one of the greatest shocks in the history of the World Cup, outshining the World Champions and their team of star players. France were without Zinedine Zidane, forced to withdraw because of injury, struggled to get into their stride and were harassed into mistakes by Senegal's striker, El Hadj Diouf. The winning goal was scored by the splendidly names Papa Bouba Diop after half an hour.

Denmark

Uruguay

Denmark 2 Uruguay 1

Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan (30,157)
1 June 2002

Two goals from Jon Dahl Tomasson proved decisive. His first came on the stroke of half-time but Rodriguez levelled the score two minutes after the break. Tomasson's winner came with seven minutes left.

Denmark

Senegal

Denmark 1 Senegal 1

Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu (43,500)
6 June 2002

Seven minutes into the second half, Senegal swept up the length of the field with a fine passing move that was finished off by Salif Diao, who had earlier been responsible for conceding the first half-penalty that had given Denmark the lead. Ten minutes before the end, Diao was again in the action but this time he was sent off for a violent tackle on Henriksen

France

Uruguay

France 0 Uruguay 0

Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan (38,289)
6 June 2002

After defeat in their opener, France badly needed a win but their chances were dented when Thierry Henry was sent off midway through the first half. In the end they held on for a point but would now need to beat Denmark by at least two goals to qualify for the next phase.

Denmark

France

Denmark 2 France 0

Incheon Munhak Stadium, Incheon (48,100)
11 June 2002

Zinedine Zidane returned for France but was clearly far from fit and he was unable to inspire his team mates who were eliminated by a determined Danish side.

Senegal

Uruguay

Senegal 3 Uruguay 3

Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon (33,681)
11 June 2002

Senegal stormed into a three goal lead after withstanding fierce pressure in the opening stages, including a controversial third from Papa Bouba Diop who appeared to be offside. Within 20 seconds of the start of the second half, Morales tapped home after Dario Silva's shot was blocked to start a remarkable comeback by Uruguay. With Senegal hanging on desperately, Uruguay drew level with an 88th minute penalty and almost snatched the win that would have taken them into the next round in injury time but Morales headed wide from just two yards out.